[WATCH] Poll Shows Manchin Wildly Out of Step With Voters As Well As Fellow Dems
U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne (D-IA) said she plans to urge U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-ish, W.VA) to back a sweeping voting reform bill after the Democrat announced this week he would oppose the package, dealing a major blow to the party’s signature effort.
“I’m astounded that anybody who is in an elected office can’t vote for a bill that takes influence out of elections and allows people to have free and fair voting,” Axne said during a West Des Moines town hall event Monday. “I would argue that people who think that this bill is irrelevant, I don’t know if they’re fit for those types of jobs.”
Manchin, a pivotal Democrat in an evenly divided U.S. Senate, represents West Virginia, which voted overwhelmingly for Republican Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. His opposition to many of the Democrats’ priorities has stymied the party as it seeks to push a progressive agenda through Congress with the narrowest of majorities. Manchin is the only member of the 50-senator Democratic caucus that is against the election overhaul bill, because, as he wrote, “partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy.”
Axne, of Iowa, isn’t alone in her frustrations. A majority of Manchin’s own constituents are in disagreement with their Senator on the topic of voting rights.
"All of it has way over majority support among WV voters, but Joe Manchin says he won't vote for it because Republican senators won't vote for it no matter why," @maddow says on new polling that shows WV voters support the For The People Act. https://t.co/2XlwcIzbbm
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 8, 2021
Rachel Maddow shared details from that poll that shows West Virginia voters of all political stripes are very supportive of the For The People Act to protect voting rights, which makes it all the more odd that Manchin does not. Watch Maddow’s take on Manchin, below.